Thanet council is set to agree a 150% increase in fixed penalty fines for fly-tipping from the current maximum of £400 up to £1000.
A rise will also be made in the fine for breach of care – when householders fail to hire registered third parties to dispose of waste properly – from £400 to £600.
The Environmental Offences (Fixed Penalties) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 that came into force on the 31st July 2023 has given local authorities the option to increase the fines issued under fixed penalty notices for fly tipping and waste and duty of care.
Thanet council aims to increase fines to the maximum amount allowed to deter fly tipping, particularly by ‘professional’ fly tipper.
Enforcement & Multi Agency Task Force Manager Eden Geddes told councillors at a scrutiny meeting last night (February 15) that in 2022-23 local authorities in the country dealt with 1.8million fly tipping incident.
Throughout 2022 Thanet council’s Street Scene Enforcement team investigated over 5000 reports with 2881 of those being fly tipping complaints. This equates to almost 8 fly tipping incidents a day.
In the last six months Thanet council has brought three prosecutions for fly tipping with another four waiting to go to court. Mr Geddes said there were some 10-12 ‘professional’ fly tipping incidents every year in Thanet.
During the meeting support for the higher rate of fixed penalty notices was supported across political parties.
The need to provide information to residents about not just the fines but how to dispose properly of waste was raised as was the suggestion that more use is made of CCTV.
Mr Geddes said there would be a communication plan and new signs. He added: “We are making better use of CCTV resources, quite a number of miscreants – fly tippers- are caught on the CCTV system.”
He revealed that this coming year’s budget is also providing for 10 re-deployable cameras which would be used, in part, to tackle fly tipping.
The proposal for the higher penalty rates is expected to be agreed by council Cabinet members on February 29.
